- Michelle S. shared an older game (it debuted in 2010) that's new to me this week: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. In it you play a top-hatted gentleman in search of pie. Heh. [Insert "the pie is a lie" joke here.]

It looks pretty fun, and I really like the art, but mostly I'm in love with the music. Give a listen to the trailer:

Isn't that the best game music EVER? Anyhoo, you can download the game through Xbox Live, or get the PC version over on Steam for $4.99 if you'd like to give it a try.

- After I featured my skeleton key necklaces, Maggie M. send me a few photos from her skeleton-key-themed wedding. She had them everywhere, hanging from bunting, etched on her wine glasses - even the cake had a heart shaped keyhole as the topper!

- John and I got hooked on the show American Pickers a while back, but we're several seasons behind. Several of you pointed out that the show recently featured something awesomely steamy, though: Dr. Evermore and his Forevertron. (You can tell just from the name that's its gonna be cool, right?)

So what is it? Well, the Forevertron is a scrap metal sculpture - the world's largest, I believe - and it's the work of artist Tom Every:

Every's story goes that the fictional Dr. Evermore built the Forevertron to "blast him into outer space on a beam of sheer lightning." Every began building it in the 1980s, making the Forevertron almost pre-steampunk, really, but the the Victorian influence and gadgetry are pretty unmistakable to the style.

I couldn't find any footage from American Pickers, but there's a fantastic article with lots more photos here on Kuriositas.

- I will never get enough of steampunked computers and keyboards. NEVER. To that end, Tara G. spotted this sweet setup by HiFidelity featured on Lifehacker:

Niiiice. Although that modern mouse really has to go.

Since
I have my own keyboard mod that's been in the works for at least 2
years now, I'm always keen to see how people solve the all-important key
hurdle. So I spent a solid 20 minutes going through every photo
in Hifidelity's Flickr stream, trying to figure out how he did his keys.
He tried what looks like a dozen different methods, but never just came
out and explained what he finally ended up doing. GRRR.

As
near as I can tell, he used buttons glued to the dremeled-down keyboard
keys, then used typewriter key stickers from Micheals on the buttons,
which I *think* come with a clear domed plastic cover.

I did a little searching, and it looks like these are the stickers he used:

And here's a closeup of his keyboard, so you guys can take a look and tell me what you think he did:

Of
course, if you've never seen Datamancer's work, then stop everything
and go check out his site. I can guarantee his work is the
inspiration for just about every steampunk keyboard mod you've ever seen. He's also the only artist I know of who's done a steampunk ergonomic keyboard. (That's what I'm trying to do. And that's also why I've been trying - off and on - for over two years now. Ha!)

And finally, BoingBoing just featured another great video by Mark Day of San Francisco's Edwardian Ball. (The Ball took place two weeks ago, and there's another one in LA at the end of this month.) It's not purely steampunk, of course, but this is a spectacle any steampunk fan can appreciate:

Much like the annual Labyrinth of Jareth, I find this event to be simultaneously mesmerizing and mildly terrifying. Though, to be fair, I think that's what most of the attendees and performers are going for. Oh, and there's a dreamy guy in a top hat in that video. I'm not gonna say where - you can just go find him yourself. :D (Don't worry, John, sweetie: he's not as dreamy as you. Now, let's go buy you a top hat.)

Here's my favorite shot, though:

Like I said: mesmerizing! I can't wait to see Day's recap of the LA event.

Hope you liked this week's roundup! As always, please share your steamy finds in the comments or over on the Epbot Facebook page.

Don't buy a top hat, make you're own! I've made 2 top hats and 1 riding hat from Tom Banwell's awesome tutorial and pattern here. I resized the pattern pieces on a copier to fit my husband's mutantly large head. From there, it's actually a pretty straightforward leather project. You can use eyelets like he did (attach your eyelets BEFORE you stitch the hat together--trust me on this one!) or stitch the darts closed instead. I just handstitched the hats together, using a stitch hole punch and a stitching awl or waxed linen with a leather needle on each end. On my second 2 hats, I stitched the wire into the brim as well, rather than gluing, which made a neater finish. Then I painted with acrylic craft paint, laced them up, and made cool hatbands to go with them. You can see one finished hat here, if you're interested.

Regarding the keyboard keys...it looks to me that you could get some round silver jewelery pendent settings the size you need to just cover the keys, print your own circle letters and cut them to fit inside those pendants, and then use a liquid glaze that dries hard to cover them with. Hope this helps!

GAH! I LOVE the Forevertron! I live in Ohio but when I had an opportunity to go to Wisconsin I HAD to make a special trip go see it, and dragged my whole famiy with me. It's even more amazing in person than in pictures, and the whole place is FILLED with amazing sculptures. :D I shot tons of video, but I have this condensed 30 second clip on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdHmYGrYjDM&feature=share&list=UURXxAYxGrndX7DDEiW0kqXg